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WHEN
DID YOU GET BACK INTO IT?
My mother stoped me at 12. She didn't want me
to be in the business.
WHY NOT?
Because of the amount of queers in the business.
I respect her for that, but that was a dream
of mine she was taking a way from. She supported
my music, my designing, everything except...she
didn't want me to be surrounded by that element.
And in this business, it is about 85% of the
business that is la-di-da and so forth. So I
had to go and do a lot of things on my own.
I had a lot of chances that passed up, kept
passing them up, passing them up, passing them
up.... Until eventually, I was finally 18 or
19, I started getting back into it.
HOW?
A friend of mine saw something in me, and started
taking me around to different agencies. The
first one we went to was Ilene Seals and she
referred me to a photographer that I still use
now: Greg Davis, a good friend of mine. An excellent
photographer. From that point on I took my daughter
and put her into it, we did a shoot together.
DID YOU HAVE TO PAY A
LOT OF MONEY TO GET STARTED AGAIN?
Yes. The initial jump-start of getting back
into the business: the manicure, pedicure, the
hair, the facials, photographer, film, stylist,
makeup artist, the wardrobe...all of these payed
for with no help from the agency. Just a quick
$500-600. And then from that point on, it's
built into the thousands -- about $5000. Well,
I can't say that, actually. I have to include
the travelling fees to go down to San Francisco
and then the shoots down there. So that takes
it up into $6 or 7,000. You can pour loads and
loads of money into your career, but it all
comes down to a 15-20 page thing. And that's
your book.
WELL HOW MUCH HAVE YOU
NETTED?
I have not even netted what I put into it, the
first year.
SO, YOU'VE SUNK $6 OR
7,000 INTO THE CAREER, AND MADE ABOUT HALF OF
WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT THE FIRST YEAR?
When you're getting back into something, it
takes a lot of networking, you have to find
an agent you're comfortable with, an agent that's
going to support you.... you know. But after
that, things get better.
HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT FINDING
THIS AGENT?
It's all about live and learn. Trial and error.
A good agent? Straightforward. A person who
knows that they work FOR you. Their job is to
take you, look at your book with you, and both
of you come to the conclusions about which shots
market you the best. And then they go out of
their way to promote you as best as they possibly
can, to get you connections: internationally,
nationally, inner-city, whichever you want to
do. They get paid by you...the average for an
agency now is %20.
THAT SEEMS FAIR TO YOU?
Yes. When they get you work, they deserve that
%20. I find NO problem with that. They're straightforward
about that. you know from the outset that they're
going to take that twenty percent. I have no
beef with that.
WHAT ARE YOUR DREAMS?
My dream
is to go to the top. And no agent is going to
do that for me. A lot of models will sit back
and not take it as a business. You've got to
invest and take good care of yourself. It takes
a lot of money to make a lot of money in this
business. it takes a lot of networking. And
people aren't' as open to that as they should
be. A lot of people you meet and talk to everyday,
it's about connections. And that's what everyone
needs. And a lot of models just want to sit
back and let their agent do it for them. but
you've got to go out of your way and work it
hard to get to the top.
DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU ARE
WELL ON YOUR WAY TO ATTAINING THAT GOAL?
Yes. I have a lot more work to do. A lot. And
that's just persistence. It's not that I have
to struggle really hard -- I have to be the
prime rib, the T-bone steak, I have to be the
thing that people salivate over.... And that's
not the easiest thing in the world. but it's
one of the funniest things in the world. One
of the best feelings in the world. It makes
you feel good. But don't let it go to your head.
IT'S HARDER FOR MEN, ISN'T
IT? I DON'T SEE A MALE SUPERMODEL SPLASHED ALL
OVER THE COVERS OF MAGAZINES.
It's a lot harder for men. There are more female
magazines than there are male's. Especially
when it comes down to fashion. Male fashion
is getting back into the thing now. A guy can
go out and in a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and
some boots and look handsome and sexy. A guy
can wear just about anything and look handsome
and sexy.
AND THAT'S THE SELLING POINT? TO BE RELAXED
AND CONFIDENT?
Yes. There is no second guessing my confidence.
I will not do that to myself. It doesn't make
me any different. At work, I'm one of the most
confident people you'll ever meet. Outside of
work I don't have the same attitude as I do
when I'm at work.
A
lot of people get up on the runway, and they
don't realize that it's a confidence battle:
It's: "I look better than you, and I know
it. So you might as well leave now, because
I already have this job in my pocket. Not that
that's a good way to conduct business. But that's
what I feel is going on in people's minds when
they go to the cattle calls.
I
don't allow people to sit back and say I'm macho,
and stuff like that. People will sit down on
the floor, because the line of hundreds of models
is really long. And they'll sit on the floor
and be bored, this-and-that, this-and-that.
For one, that's not a good way to present yourself.
If you get hired, more power to you. I consider
you lucky. I get to go to cattle calls, get
to fix myself up, get paid to take care of myself.
Cattle calls: I get to watch the attitudes flow
back and forth. And I get to go in there and
know what to expect. I'm in a casual attitude
with a big smile on my face, because I know
I'm relaxed.
ADVICE
People who want to go out and model.... more
power to you. Definitely pursue it. Just know
whether or not you're going to sell. Be realistic.
Don't kid yourself or you'll be throwing a lot
of money away. Don't let people screw you out
of your money.
HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?
People get dicked over left and right. It happens
every day in the industry. The most common way
is for a model that's starting out in the business,
will come to the business with their parents,
or by themselves, no matter how old or young
they are, and the first thing the agent says
is "How tall are you?" Well, there's
a certain height limit for most models which
for the male is, what?, 5'11", 6' minimum,
and the minimum for women is 5'9", 5'10"
So, say you're a male. You're 5'9-1/2".
That's medium range to model. Petit men isn't
like the biggest thing in the world. There are
big and tall models, there are short and stubby
models, it don't matter. but the main market
is the quote-unquote average model. So the people
that don't fit this "Average" category,
that don't have the qualities the agency's looking
for, they'll ask them for a check. The check
may be for a couple hundred dollars up to $1200.
It's to learn how to model. F--- it. I believe
modeling is a natural thing. You either can
walk have an attitude and a lot of confidence
in yourself -- or you don't. If you don't have
these things right now, you just have to learn
how to let them out. Well, that's possible.
You go to fashion shows, you watch those models.
You go to photo shoots, you ask the photographers.
You work with the people, not against them.
Don't let them sucker you out of your money
just so they can benefit their agency or company
and have them sitting around not doing anything
for you.
WHAT ARE INDICATIONS THAT
YOUR AGENT ISN'T THE RIGHT ONE FOR YOU?
The signs? That you're not getting any work,
and you're sitting on your ass calling your
agent every day. "You're all clear. You're
all clear. You're all clear...."every day
that you call back. Wake up, go get yourself
a new agent. It happened to me. But the agency,
I respect them for what they can do. I do not
respect them for what they've done to me. I
feel they bring in way too many models for what
they are able to bring work to, or market. From
my knowledge of being with them for 7 or 8 months,
is that they use only their top 15 percent.
When you're first a new model, they'll bring
you in, they'll have you sitting around, get
you a casting or maybe a job within one or two
months if you're not the hottest thing on the
market. And then they'll dick you around for
the next how many months. Don't wait.
After
two months, if they can't get you a job, leave
them on a business level. Don't burn any bridges.
Go on down the road. See if you can get you
a better thing.
CAN'T YOU BE REGISTERED
WITH MORE THAN ONE AGENCY?
You can, but that's not within one city. Agencies
don't like that. In the city that you are based
in, you have one agent. As you pick up agents
over the years, you can have agents in every
city. But your"mother agency" the
one that you are solely with, is the one that
you started with. Usually the agents that you
have in other cities do business with your mother
agency. Work with your agent. Tell them where
you want to go. Tell them what you dream about
and what you're ready to do right now. Because
if you DON'T do that, then he's not going to
know, and you WILL be sitting around. Period.
WHAT OTHER PROBLEMS HAVE
YOU ENCOUNTERED IN THE BUSINESS?
Egos. And that's self-explanatory. Only the
strong will cut down everyone else's. Don't
cut them down in a negative way. Just cut them
down so that they feel insecure when they're
standing next to you. So that you get the job
and they don't. :)
WHAT ABOUT SEXUAL HARASSMENT?
All the time. All the time. Don't take it. Recognize
it when you look at
your first contact sheets. If they come back
and you see a lot of nice shots of your ass.
That tells you that the photographer is shooting
with his lower head, not his upper head. That's
not a photographer you necessarily want to work
with.
A lot of photographers tend to get touchie-feelie.
You keep them away from that. Relate strictly
on a business level. Make sure they know who
you are, where you are, what you think, what
your values and morals are. And that you will
not be disrespected in any way by having someone
even attempt to disrespect those. As long as
you're forward and very friendly about how you
present yourself, you won't have any problems
with that. You may have problems at first, but
the only person who's going to correct anything
like that is yourself. Do that by bringing it
to the attention of the person(s) doing it,
letting them know that you know what they're
doing, and that you won't have this going on,
and you will not stand for it. Period.
WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS
THAT YOU SEE IN THE BUSINESS?
What I notice? Gadzooks! It costs too much money
to keep me working!
I want to do more jobs. .The problems in some
cities like here in Seattle: It is a city with
a town mentality. Everyone here wants free-free-free.
DON'T WORK FOR FREE!!! The people who hire you
sure as f--- don't. If they can provide for
themselves and not for their business associates
(i.e. you) and respect you in that manner, then
don't work for them.
WHAT IS MODELING TO YOU?
I love my job. The best job in the world. A
job that pays, as you go thru' your career,
you get paid more and more. $150-250/hour, wear
other people's nice clothing, be pampered, have
someone do my makeover - lightly, because I'm
a male - to have my hair done, body rub-downs,
work out at the gym, eat healthy diet: not to
loose weight but to make sure that you're fed
properly, to make sure that your body will grow
and prosper in the way that it should. I personally
feel that everyone else's job should be the
same way. I wish that everyone else's job could
be that way, but it's not.
As a businessman greed is a good thing, on a
social level. Modeling is a very greedy business.
On the other hand, it's a very social business,
it's a very friendly business. You can prosper
mentally a lot. It's about knowing who you are,
where you want to be, and how you're going to
get there. It gets you more street smart. A
lot of people will have difficulty in seeing
whether they're being screwed over or not, but
in modeling, you learn real quick, unless you're
just super-ignorant. If you are, get out of
that phase and move on. Be wise.
Take
it as a business. Set your resume up: Maybe
a bi-fold standard letter size. On the front
cover have a nice opening head shot. On the
inner flap on the left-hand side you have your
educational background, your work history, etc.
On the other side, you have maybe a six-piece
collage of different shots and styles that you
can do. Make sure that you establish yourself
as yourself not as a typical model. When someone
says Iman, they know who the fuck she is, they
know what her name looks like and how it's spelled.
Make sure that you make yourself a local. Know
how you want to present yourself to people,
what you want them to remember you by. And that's
a good start right there. That's where you want
to build yourself from. That's more or less
the level you want to get yourself built up
to, so that you can go into a go-see for Barney's
in New York or whomever, and walk up to them,
hand them your resume: "Hi, my name is
blah-blah. It's a pleasure meeting you. Thank
you for your time in looking over my stuff.
this is what I've got for you today. Here's
my resume, here's my composition card, and here's
my business card. and here's my portfolio in
case you still need to look at that also."
See? I have the job in my pocket, because I'm
confident, I'm well-business-mannered, I know
what I'm worth, I have a price list in my resume
of what I charge. Period.
WHICH IS?
$150/250 an hour for print work. Runway and
other types, it varies. Commercial, TV -- big
money: like $25,000 for one job. Modeling pays
really well as long as you know how to promote
yourself. If you're at a casting: don't hold
back. If they say "Show me how you're running
if your headed for a touchdown with five people
on your ass about to tackle you... and run in
place" and there are folks all around...
Do it! Sweat. Make those ugly faces. That's
what they want to see. Do it right there. 'Cause
if you don't, you won't get the job. And the
other people around you are going to laugh.
The people around the room, if you do the job
the way you should do it, the way you know you
can do it, are going to respect you, be intimidated
by you. You're going to get the job because
they're going to think "either I out-do
that performance, or I won't get the job."
ALL A MATTER OF ATTITUDE
AGAIN, HUH?
Exactly. You go in with the mind-set that I'm
going to win. I'm going to be a professional.
I am a professional at what I do. Let me show
you what I can do. Period. But if you're working
a job, and you hate your job, and you're washing
dishes for some dumb a--h--- who's paying you
$6.85/hour. Tell him to go su-k your d--k. Quit
the job on the busiest night and follow your
dreams. Because if you follow your dreams, no
matter how hard it is, no matter how little
money you make, you'll always be content. Word
from the wise.
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